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* FAANGs jump after Netflix results beat estimates
* Morgan Stanley wins as profit exceeds estimates
* Indices up: Dow 0.63%, S&P 1.13%, Nasdaq 1.73% (add comments, details; update prices)
Jan. 20 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached historic records on Wednesday, when Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States, while Netflix’s solid results generated a rise in the shares of winners who stay at home .
Shares in the world’s largest streaming service rose 14%, adding more than $ 30 billion to its market capitalization, after the company said it would no longer need to borrow billions of dollars to fund its TV shows and films.
The rest of the FAANG group, due to the report’s results in the coming weeks, jumped with Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple and Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent, up between 2% and 5%.
The NYSE FANG + TM index gained 3.8%.
“People are returning to looking at technology as a part of the market that can perform well, regardless of whether COVID remains a problem or is eventually dropped,” said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, an office. family investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.
Biden will spend little time turning the page on the Trump era, advisers said, signing a series of 15 executive actions in the afternoon on issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to the economy and climate change.
The Dow Jones has gained about 57% since Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2017, which compares to a 72% jump in the Obama administration’s first term.
Optimism about a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as bets on a larger pandemic relief plan under a Democratic-controlled Congress, have helped major Wall Street indices reach record highs in recent months, with the Dow blue-chip jumping about 17 % since the presidential elections in November.
Eight of the 11 S&P sectors advanced in the afternoon trade, with technology, communication services and discretionary consumption among the biggest winners.
Completing the results of major North American creditors, Morgan Stanley rose slightly after its quarterly profit exceeded estimates driven by the strength of its trading business.
The broader banking index, however, fell about 1.6%, falling for the third day.
With stock market valuations close to 20-year highs, investors hope that corporate results and profit prospects will help them determine the extent to which valuations are justified.
At 11:54 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 195.20 points, or 0.63%, to 31,125.72, the S&P 500 gained 43.10 points, or 1.13%, to 3,842.01 and the Nasdaq Composite won 227.78 points, or 1.73%, to 13,424.96.
Procter & Gamble Co increased its sales forecast for the entire year for the second time as it benefited from the sustained demand for coronavirus for cleaning products. Its shares, however, fell about 1.4% after warning that the pace of sales may slow as vaccines are launched.
UnitedHealth Group Inc fell 0.3% after the health insurer’s quarterly earnings fell nearly 38%, due to costs related to its programs to make COVID-19 testing and treatment more accessible to its customers.
Early issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.8 to 1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.1 to 1 ratio on Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 recorded 51 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 456 new highs and 10 new lows. (Reporting by Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V and Maju Samuel)